


A Scrapbook in Magnets

by Gorgeous Nerd (gorgeousnerd)



Series: dogdaysofsummer 2009 [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Community: dogdaysofsummer, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-08-07
Updated: 2009-08-07
Packaged: 2017-10-18 16:38:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/190977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gorgeousnerd/pseuds/Gorgeous%20Nerd
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The magnets grew in number. Some were decorative; others, merely useful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Scrapbook in Magnets

**Author's Note:**

> For [dogdaysofsummer](http://dogdaysofsummer.livejournal.com) 2009, [prompt 5](http://community.livejournal.com/dogdaysofsummer/249545.html). Also available on [its original community post](http://community.livejournal.com/dogdaysofsummer/258724.html), [my LJ fic community](http://community.livejournal.com/chomalfoyfics/17948.html), and [DW](http://firmament.dreamwidth.org/10986.html).

The first magnet on the fridge was a little black dog.

It held a photo of one Sirius Black. Or rather, the rear end of one Sirius Black, just visible beyond the edge of the icebox door. And thanks to Remus's film developing skills, it wiggled. (The rear end, not the icebox door.)

Remus had discovered Sirius with his head in the empty fridge while his arms had been full of groceries. He'd very quietly put the bags on the card table and grabbed the camera. Only the click and the flash alerted Sirius to Remus's presence. In turn, the banging of Sirius's head on one of the metal shelves alerted Remus to the fact that Sirius noticed him.

Sirius said, much later, that he had wanted to cool down, and that the inside of the fridge was the coolest place in the dead of August. Remus nodded solemnly, as if he saw the sense in it.

At the time, there had been chasing, and making up, and spoilt groceries on the table.

-

The magnets grew in number. Slowly at first, then faster as visitors noticed an abundance of white. Some were decorative; others, merely useful.

Magnet twenty-three, the middle magnet on the fridge, was a small Snitch that glittered in the light of the kitchen.

It first held a talking shopping list that Sirius created. Which meant, of course, that it used Sirius's voice and asked naggingly about every item taken off the shelves. "The milk's looking low," it told Remus once, even though the jug was nearly to the brim. And Sirius never heard the end of his snacking before supper.

The list lasted three days and two hours, at which point it was chucked in the bin, and Remus affixed a scrap of parchment under the Snitch.

-

The amount of new magnets slowed, then stopped. There was a little patch of white at eye level, next to the black dog, which Sirius told Remus not to fill. He was looking for the perfect magnet, he said.

And so, the final magnet on the fridge was a wolf's head, complete with golden eyes.

It, like the dog magnet, held a picture, but of one Remus Lupin, sitting against the side of the now-covered icebox. The picture didn't move; it didn't have to. Even in stillness, an observer could see the moisture glistening on Remus's cheeks, the redness of his eyes, the way he hugged his legs.

After Sirius took the picture, he placed the camera on the counter and sat on the floor to give Remus something larger to hug.

When the photo developed, Sirius placed it under the wolf. He kissed the tips of his fingers and pressed them against the glossy paper as a single tear trailed down his face.

-

Sirius was in Azkaban, and Remus was left to take down the magnets.

He put it off as long as possible because there was no one to urge him on. It was only when he received the eviction notice that he took up a scrapbook, the trash bin, and his wand.

Many scraps were disposed of without a second glance: the latest shopping list, directions to Lily and James's old flat in London, Remus's to-do lists. Others he placed along with their magnets on the pages of the scrapbook using Sticking Charms. A couple of times, Remus wondered if Lily and James wouldn't want some of the magnets. He only remembered as he threw them away.

At last, the one magnet left on the fridge was a heart.

It hung on the right side, the side facing the front door. It held a drawing Sirius had scrawled of two men with dog ears. At turns, each man turned and kissed the other on the cheek. The man with black hair grinned when kissed, and the man with brown hair blushed.

Remus's hand hovered over it, not quite touching, as the light in the flat grew dim and disappeared.

Finally, he dropped his hand and grabbed the sundry items around: the scrapbook, his wand, the rubbish, and his suitcase.

He let the door close behind him without a final glance back.


End file.
